Nutraceuticals

India is diverse and one of the most developing nations having industries for almost every sector. The nutraceutical industry is also growing. It was asserted that this nutraceutical market is worth approximately $4 Billion in 2017 and expected to reach a notable value of 21% CAGR to $10 Billion in 2022 and $18 Billion by the end of 2025. There are numerous nutraceutical companies in India, but very few are providing top quality nutraceutical products at an affordable price.

Nutraceutical is the hybrid of ‘Nutrition’ and ‘Pharmaceutical’. Nutraceuticals, in broad, are food or part of food playing a significant role in modifying and maintaining normal physiological function that maintains healthy human beings. The principal reasons for the growth of the nutraceutical market worldwide are the current population and the health trends. The food products used as nutraceuticals can be categorized as dietary fibre, prebiotics, probiotics, polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants and other different types of herbal / natural foods. These nutraceuticals help in combating some of the major health problems of the century such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, cholesterol etc. In whole, ‘nutraceutical’ has lead to the new era of medicine and health, in which the food industry has become a research oriented sector.

Nutraceuticals are products derived from food sources that are purported to provide extra health benefits, in addition to the basic nutritional value found in foods. Depending on the jurisdiction, products may claim to prevent chronic diseases, improve health, delay the aging process, increase life expectancy, or support the structure or function of the body. Over the past few years, an increasing number of dietary supplements have become available in supermarkets and health food shops and they are also available for purchase in pharmacies.

“Nutraceutical” is used to describe these medicinally or nutritionally functional foods. Nutraceuticals, which have also been called medical foods, designer foods, phytochemicals, functional foods and nutritional supplements, The term “nutraceutical” was coined in 1989 by Stephen De Felice, founder and chairman of the Foundation for Innovation in Medicine, an American organization which encourages medical health research. He defined a nutraceutical as a “food, or parts of a food, that provide medical or health benefits.